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The evils of racism are expressed in the words we speak and the mores we establish. And both emerge from the illusion of superiority.

Jackie Robinson, as a black American, was thrown into the fire when he entered major league baseball in 1947, breaking the sport’s color barrier. The movie, “42,” named after Robinson’s jersey number, depicts the dramatic events of that year.

April is Financial Literacy Month and with help from FINRA, BBB is sharing ways in which you can become financially literate. One of the first steps to financial happiness is getting out of debt.

It’s easy to fall into debt. But just because you’re in debt, doesn’t mean you have to stay in debt. Whether you’re in serious trouble or just want to pay down some bills, take the steps in this financial action plan to get going.

My baseball experience is spotty and without glory. Baseball doesn’t go well with poor eyesight and limited coordination. But you can learn to love it just the same.

Many summer nights as a boy, I sat next to the wood-grain stereo listening to Cincinnati Reds’ games. The radio signal was stronger if you were near it. Sometimes, my father would drag my sleeping carcass from the floor to the bed when I dozed off during the seventh-inning stretch dreaming of Johnny Bench, Pete Rose or Lee May.

I couldn’t shake the somberness that clung to me like lint on a suit of clothes. The grief I felt in the eyes of the family followed me out the door of the funeral home and into my car. A wintry mix of snow and rain added to the dreariness of the moment and the rhythmic swish and swash of my windshield wipers sounded like a death knell, projecting with every beat of its dirge the photographs I had just seen of the deceased in happy times, nagging me with one question: Why?

A few weeks ago, the Republican National Committee issued a 100-page report aimed at reviving the GOP after its poor showing in last November’s elections. It was remarkably blunt about the specifics of the party’s shortcomings — its lack of inclusiveness, its hapless data initiatives, its poor grassroots organizing.

What it did not take on, however, was an issue the RNC can do little about: the diminished influence, if not irrelevance, of both major parties in American politics.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” That was my wife’s response when I told her I was going on a vegan diet plan, which is a vegetarian diet that excludes meat, dairy products and eggs.

My son, Dave, was more blunt: “You might as well turn in your man card, Dad.

It happened like this. One of my friends, who is an avid runner, mentioned that she has trouble getting adequate protein in her diet. “I’ve never had trouble eating animals that are raised and killed for food,” I commented.

I often tell people that if it doesn’t bother your conscience or your pocketbook you’re probably not going to change.

When it comes to giving to a charity it is definitely true but if you ask the right questions of your tax professional you may get a little more out of your tax deductions to go along with your generosity. If you are already giving to a nonprofit, now might be a good time to ask about the benefits of managing your successful investments as part of a charitable giving plan.